Scarlets 10 Glasgow 46

It was long-serving Phil John’s final match at Parc y Scarlets and ‘Mr Llanelli’ Gareth Jenkins bowed out as full-time head of development and recruitment, but Glasgow Warriors gatecrashed the party in sensational style.

The inspirational Jenkins presided over 13 Welsh Cup triumphs, four league titles, victory over then world champions Australia in 1992 and two Heineken Cup semi-finals during his time as coach of Llanelli RFC and the Scarlets regional entity which was formed in 2003.

And, during an inspirational association which stretched back to when he made his debut as a 17-year-old flanker in 1969, he packed down in the team that famously beat the 1972 New Zealand All Blacks at Stradey Park on the day the town was allegedly drunk dry by celebrating players, officials and supporters.

But the former Wales coach hadn’t seen the Scarlets suffer a heavier league defeat in Llanelli and will be disappointed by yesterday’s thrashing as a rampant Glasgow piled up seven tries during a classy and hugely impressive display.

It meant the west Walians dropped out of the top four of the Pro12 and the play-off zone for the first time this season as Ulster climbed above them with a bonus-point win at Zebre in Italy.

Scarlets are two points behind Ulster and have lost control of their own destiny.

At a minimum, you suspect they have to beat Newport Gwent Dragons at the Principality Stadium on Judgement Day and win against Munster at Limerick’s Thomond Park on the final day of the regular league campaign to have any chance of progressing to the championship semi-finals.

If the Scarlets or Cardiff Blues, who can mathematically still finish in the top four, fail to make it, Wales will be without a semi-finalist for the second time in three seasons, which has to be deemed unacceptable.

Should Blues beat the Dragons at the Arms Park today, they will either be five or six points behind Scarlets, with matches against Ospreys and Edinburgh to come.

So, the first priority for the Scarlets is to ensure they finish Wales’ top team in the league to secure the country’s only automatic place in next season’s Champions Cup.

Phil John of Scarlets applauds supporters after his last home game. (Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency)

If they fail to do that, a top-six finish would get them in as a second Welsh qualifier on Pro12 standings.

To be blunt, anything other than booking a place in the European gem would be a huge bonus because forcing their way back into the top four looks to be a mighty difficult task when the remaining fixtures are scrutinised.

Scarlets had lost 57-30 to Glasgow at Stradey Park in April 2005, 43-19 to Leinster and 41-17 to Treviso, both at Parc y Scarlets, in 2013 and 39-16 to Cardiff Blues in 2010, but this was more dismal when you consider how well they had performed for much of the league campaign and what was at stake.

Beating neighbours Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium for the first time since 2007 had put them in pole position, but they’ve slipped down the grid after being ruthlessly taken apart by Blues and Glasgow on home territory.

Glasgow are an excellent team, having beaten the Scarlets three times this season (twice in Europe and once in the league), but even their most die-hard supporters wouldn’t have expected such a one-sided and dominant success.

Yes, Scarlets had been affected by a stomach bug which had temporarily put 20 players out of training but, as coach Wayne Pivac stressed, that couldn’t be blamed for the catalogue of unforced errors, wrong decisions, turnovers and defensive lapses that were to prove so expensive.

“Clearly some of those players weren’t 100%, but I’m not making excuses – I’m certainly not blaming that for where the game was won and lost,” Pivac said.

Sizzling Finn Russell’s opening-try chip, chase and catch was top drawer, but Steff Evans, for the second match in a row, should have done better as the Scotland outside-half arrowed for the corner for his second.

However, Evans couldn’t be blamed for the lapse in organisation which had enabled Russell to attack the sparsely-defended blindside.

Glasgow’s third score came when Wales scrum-half Gareth Davies ran straight into trouble. He was stripped off the ball and opposite number Henry Pyrgos sprinted away before putting Lee Jones away.

The left-wing could have been stopped by the covering Hadleigh Parkes, but the Kiwi centre bounced off the Scotland international as he attempted to make the tackle.